Devonia Farm House

Item details


Name of item:	Devonia Farm House
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Residential buildings (private)
Category:	House
Primary address:	136 Stoney Creek Road, Beverly Hills, NSW 2209
Parish:	St George
County:	Cumberland
Local govt. area:	Georges River

Boundary:

Property boundary. Both the house and its setting (current lot) contribute to the heritage significance of the Item.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
136 Stoney Creek Road	Beverly Hills	Georges River	St George	Cumberland	Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The property known as Devonia at 136 Stoney Creek Road Beverly Hills is of historic and aesthetic significance to the local area as an early 20th century timber cottage with distinctive form, fabric and detailing that provides important evidence of the original layer of residential development in the Beverly Hills/north Penshurst area. It also has the potential to have a degree of research significance associated with its (likely) design and construction by an English-trained carpenter-joiner as his family home. Substantially intact early 20th century timber houses are rare in the former Hurstville area. Built and occupied by 1901 on a one-acre parcel subdivided in the third release of the large Penshurst Park subdivision, Devonia's aesthetic qualities are locally notable and provide important evidence of individuality of choice in residential housing within the broader patterns of the early development of the area. It does not conform to any formal architectural style of the period, with elements of Federation Bungalow symmetry; the Federation Arts and Crafts through the extensive shingling to the walls and the prominent gables in a modestly scaled cottage with elements also of the early American Cape Cod suggested by the timber construction and overall character. This blending of styles supports the likelihood that the house was both designed and constructed by the husband of the original purchaser Lucy Jonas. Robert Jonas was an English carpenter-joiner, and the couple had arrived in Sydney via Perth, WA. Jonas may have been motivated to advertise his skills as a craftsman to prospective purchasers and builders in the newly subdivided area. The house was built in a prominent position on the main road separating the large releases of the Penshurt Park Estate subdivision. Its design and detailing may also have been a personal aesthetic choice. Notwithstanding the underlying reason, Devonia is an aesthetically notable element in the streetscape of Stoney Creek Road that provides important evidence of the course and pattern of the former Hurstville local government area’s growth. The property demonstrates historic and aesthetic heritage values that satisfy the NSW Heritage Council’s Criteria for local heritage significance.
	Date significance updated: 30 Oct 20
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	Unknown
Builder/Maker:	Unknown, potentially Robert Jonas
Physical description:	Devonia is distinctively different to the Victorian and popular vernacular Federation cottage styles that were commonly built in the local area at the time. It includes elements of the Federation Bungalow (the symmetry); the Federation Arts and Crafts (the extensive use of shingling); and in overall character, the American Cape Cod, particularly the timber construction and composition of the roof. It is essentially a modest timber cottage of simple symmetrical form with a prominent roof of dark red tiles with its ridge set parallel to the front boundary. The façade features a central porch that is slightly recessed behind the line of the façade, with a pair of flanking boxed bay windows projecting forward of the façade on either side of the porch. Each bay has a prominent gable in line with the main roof and with a carved open teardrop design at the ends of the bargeboards. The gable ends feature shingled cladding that changes angle to project over the bays and shelters each window. The porch has a similar shingled awning between the bays but is open forward of this and extends into a terrace into the front garden in a curved line. Steps lead to the adjacent path which curves to the east, which was the side of the original garden, but now terminates in an opening near the low wall at the property boundary with Stoney Creek Road. Smaller awnings to the side windows under the main gable appear to have ripple-profile cladding. The cladding is shiplap profile timber boards with the area below the sill-line having vertical detailing in imitation of ashlar stonework. Above the sill-line shiplap profile boards cover most of the façade, with v-notched shingle boards to the gables, main awnings and façade of the porch area. The hanging gable ends of the side elevations have rounded profile shingled boards. The cladding to the visible walls of the rear addition are asbestos/fibrous cement. The glazing to the front bay windows has been removed and each replaced by a single pane of fixed glass. The glazing to the side elevations may also have been replaced (they were obscured by insect screens). The front door case is typical of the late Victorian/early 20th century with a pair of side-lights. The joinery and detailing of the front door was obscured by a security screen door. The footprint of the building is substantially intact. The garage has been added but is sited in the traditional location behind the main footprint. The dual driveway tracks are consistent with the mid-20th century. The garden layout is original, with simple planting to the boundaries and large expanses of lawn. The front fence is a standard mid-20th century rendered masonry fence with a crack mid-boundary. The 1943 aerial photograph of the property shows that the main form is intact to that time and the rear skillion-roofed wing as slightly larger than it is today. The site had not been subdivided at that time. The area near the house was fenced and planted. Several sheds and structures can be seen, plus a pair of driveway wheel-tracks, but no garage had been built at this time. The majority of the site to the east of the house appears to have been largely unused, although was fenced (there are no foot-tracks showing short-cuts taken by pedestrians across the space) and shelters or sheds along the fence to the house garden suggests animals may have been kept. Shadows at the eastern end suggests that earlier uses included growing vegetables/flowers. The tree in the north-western corner is in the same position as one visible in the earlier aerial.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	Most visible fabric is in very good condition although some maintenance to the timberwork requires attention. Air pollution/rain has discoloured the projecting awnings and they have protected the timber cladding below from similar damage. The front fence has a crack mid-block.
	Date condition updated:14 Aug 12
Modifications and dates:	1947: Curtilage reduced by re-subdivision 1947 Dates unknown: The front windows have been replaced with single-paned picture glass; the rear wing under the skillion roof has been replaced; and a garage has been added behind the line of the main volume of the house. Roof tiles are likely to have been replaced and the current fence is post-1947.
Further information:	This assessment of heritage significance is based on inspection of the property from the public domain, which may include the street, nearby accessible places such as parks and/or publicly available aerial photographs. It is a summary only and may not mention all fabric that informed the assessment of the property's heritage significance. More detailed investigation may reveal that fabric described in this form as original was added later in traditional form and/or materials. This will not necessarily affect the assessed heritage significance of the property. Heritage Inventory sheets are based on the information available at the time of their preparation. This information can be limited and may not include interiors, fabric not visible from a public place, landscape elements or research into social or built archaeological heritage potential. Potential Aboriginal heritage values applicable to the particular site have not been identified. Further research and detailed investigation of fabric may reveal new or altered aspects of significance, and the inventory sheet may be updated by Council as further information becomes available. An inventory sheet with limited information does not mean that items or elements are not significant.


Current use:	Residential

History

Historical notes:

136 Stoney Creek Road is located within the 1605 acres granted to Dr Robert Townson in 1810. The Grant extended from Broadarrow Road in the north to Hurstville Road (south of the Illawarra railway line). It was purchased in 1832 by John Connell, after which the area between Forest Road, Stoney Creek Road, Dumbleton Road (King Georges Road) and Queensbury Road became known locally as Connell’s Brush (or Bush) in acknowledgement of its still undeveloped character without significant agricultural use apart from timber cutting and charcoal burning. After Connell’s death in 1849 the area east of today’s Queensbury Road was inherited by his grandson, Elias Pearson Laycock. Laycock retained the land and in 1867 converted almost all (except for 25 acres that had been sold to Longfield) to Torrens Title with a subdivision to create 30 small farm lots of up to 25 acres each. Early sales were mostly of the lots south of Forest Road. Almost the entire area of Connell’s Bush lying north of Gannons Forest Road (Forest Road) was acquired by Thomas Salter in 1879, who continued the large lot sales and started to also sell smaller parcels of 6-10 acres and some suburban-sized lots as the Penshurst Park Estate. The boundaries between the 6-10 acre lots formed the current street pattern as each was re-subdivided for residential development in the following years by early purchasers. The majority residue was purchased by the Penshurst Park Estate. The size of the Estate necessitated a controlled series of land releases, and the area north of Stoney Creek Road (known at the time as Kingsgrove Road) which included Lots X1 and Y, U1, V1 and W1, plus part of Lots A, A2, B, E, F, I and Z of Laycock's original subdivision (DP53) was not opened for sale until 1894, at which time the 25 acre lots were re-subdivided into c.1 acre parcels advertised as being suitable for small farms and activities such as poultry and pig keeping with future development potential. The distance from Penshurst Station ensured that the sales of these lots were slow, with the first sales not recorded until the turn of the century.
“Devonia” was built on Lot 1 of Section D of the 1894 release of the Penshurst Park Estate, the one acre parcel being purchased in 1901 by Lucy Jonas, wife of Robert Jonas. The house may have been built prior to finalisation of the purchase, with the 1900 Sands Directory listing Jonas as resident at Kingsgrove (now Stoney Creek) Road and each of the following Directories until 1931. The Jonas’ were also listed as resident at the property in the Electoral Rolls by 1903-1904.
Jonas was an English-born carpenter-joiner who had been working in Western Australia, where he and Lucy married before moving to NSW (family notice of their Silver Wedding in SMH; 31 January 1912 and records at ancestry.com.au). The couple remained at Devonia with their son who was a bricklayer until they retired to Wentworth Falls c. 1931. Lucy Jonas continued to own Devonia and leased it to Alex McMullen. Lucy died in 1934 and the title was transferred to Robert Jonas. Robert sold the property to Regina Victoria Mack and Isobel Mack, both spinsters of Dumbledon as Joint Tenants in 1935. The 1939 Water Board (Metropolitan Water Sewage and Drainage) Plans show Devonia on the unsubdivided and developed one-acre block. The footprint of the skillion wing at that time was similar but slightly larger than the existing wing, confirmed in the 1943 aerial photographs. The Macks retained ownership of the property until 1946 when it was purchased by builder Cecil Selwyn Robert Bentley of Blakehurst.
Bentley re-subdivided the land in 1947, with Devonia located on Lot 1 (DP 20704). He sold the other lots but retained Devonia until 1952 when it was purchased by James Frederick Skelly, a railway worker. In 1965 it came under the control of the NSW Public Trustee. It was then sold to Joan Patricia Dawson, a "married woman", in 1971.

Search of Land Title records relating to the property 1867-1965, including: 53-186; 389- 224; 395 -205; 690-217; 880-107; 890-170; 1376-93; and 6172-6

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	(none)-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	(none)-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Creative endeavour-Activities associated with the production and performance of literary, artistic, architectural and other imaginative, interpretive or inventive works; and/or associated with the production and expression of cultural phenomena; and/or environments that have inspired such creative activities.	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The property (house and garden setting) known as Devonia at 136 Stoney Creek Road, Beverly Hills is of historic significance to the local area for the evidence it provides of the pattern of development associated with the process of Beverly Hills’ transition from an area of undeveloped bushland to a suburban cultural landscape. The house has remained substantially intact since its construction c.1901, likely by Robert Jonas, an English carpenter-joiner whose wife Lucy Jonas was the first registered owner of the property. The house is of locally notable style and detailing and is a rare surviving example of timber cottage construction from the turn of the 20th century. Devonia’s physical curtilage has been reduced since the original one-acre Lot 1 of Section D of the Penshurst Park Estate (DP3421), but Devonia was placed at the western edge of its long, narrow lot and the 1947 re-subdivision into nine similarly sized properties contributes to the evidence of the pattern of the second, more intensive suburbanisation layer of residential development of the area. The setting today reads as consistent with this layer, with the sparse landscaping consistent with the character visible in the 1943 aerial photographs of the area and allowing clear views of the notable physical qualities of the house. The historic heritage values of the property are demonstrated by both the house and its setting. Together they satisfy the Criteria for historic heritage significance at the local level.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	Devonia is of aesthetic heritage significance to the local area because it is a very good and substantially intact timber house with distinctive aesthetic qualities that are very rare, and potentially unique, in the local area. Likely to have been built c.1901 by English migrant carpenter/joiner Robert Jonas who lived, with his wife and owner of the property Lucy Jonas for almost 30 years, Devonia includes elements of the Federation Bungalow (form), Federation Arts and Crafts (the extensive use of wall shingles) and the American Cape Cod (symmetry and overall character) styles; yet which reads as prescient of mid-20th century suburban designs. The extensive yet aesthetically sensitive use of timber cladding on such a modest cottage is locally notable. Its garden setting is simple with large areas of lawn and shrubs, including the popular early 20th century, but now increasingly rare rose bush. This is consistent with the open character of the property visible in the 1943 aerial (prior to re-subdivision). Changes have been limited and generally have had only modest impact on its otherwise notable aesthetic values. Its current curtilage has been reduced from the original one-acre but reads as appropriate in the context of the contemporary rhythms of development along the streetscape of Stoney Creek Road, and the suburbs of Beverly Hills to the north and Penshurst to the south, to each of which it makes an important contribution. The aesthetic heritage values of the property are demonstrated by both the house and its setting. Together they satisfy the Criteria for aesthetic heritage significance at the local level.
SHR Criteria e) [Research potential]	Devonia’s distinctive construction and detailing, and its likely construction by a newly arrived English carpenter, suggests that the property has the potential to provide evidence of timber construction and joinery techniques of the early 20th century,
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	Devonia is the only example of its type in the former Hurstville LGA. The survival of the original layer of residential development in the LGA is also rare.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	Devonia is a fine representative example of a bespoke timber house in the local area. It includes elements representative of two major (Federation Bungalow and Arts and Crafts) residential styles as well as the American Cape Cod.
Integrity/Intactness:	The house and its current garden setting is substantially intact externally. Later layers are of minor impact on the assessed heritage values or reversible/potentially reconstructable.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:

The building should be retained and conserved. The glazing to the front windows could be replaced with more sympathetic detailing in the future if the opportunity arises; and the addition to the rear could be replaced in similar scale and form but contemporary in style, but the aesthetic heritage values of the property do not depend on either. Note that any replacement of the front windows would need additional research to determine the original detailing, or the most appropriate alternative. If this is not possible, the existing should remain. A Heritage Assessment and Heritage Impact Statement should be prepared for the building prior to any major works being undertaken. Archival and photographic recording, in accordance with Heritage Council guidelines, should be undertaken before major changes.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Georges River Local Environmental Plan 2021	I10	07 Dec 12

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Hurstville Community Based Heritage Study Review	2012		City Plan Heritage		Yes
Review of State Heritage Inventory Forms for the former Hurstville Local Government Area	2019	5	Conroy Heritage Planning	RC	Yes

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written	Hurstville Council		Rate and Valuation Books
Photograph	NSW Land and Property Information		SIX aerial mapping
Written	NSW Registrar General		Land Titles
Written	Pedr Davis	1986	The Hurstville Story
Graphic	Sydney Water		Sydney Water Detail Sheets - Hurstville Series
Graphic	various		Hurstville Subdivision Plans
Written	various		TROVE- Historic newspaper collection
Written	various		Ancestry searches	View detail

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	1810015

Every effort has been made to ensure that information contained in the State Heritage Inventory is correct. If you find any errors or omissions please send your comments to the Database Manager.

All information and pictures on this page are the copyright of Heritage NSW or respective copyright owners.